Different Horizons-A Paw Patrol Story

Chapter Sixteen

Ryder pulled out all the money he had in his wallet and counted it. He had two thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills and then some. Ryder was shocked to see so much but wasn't complaining. He looked up at the seven people looking at him.

"Okay," he said as he passed out some bills to each. "You'll each get two hundred dollars to spend on whatever you want."

"What do we do with this?" Marshall asked as he examined the bill.

Ryder looked at him in confusion. It dawned on him that they never used money as pups. They were partly aware about the concept, but they never had to use it. Ryder never took them with him when he paid for their groceries.

"Well, it's pretty simple," Ryder said. "The number in the corner is what the bill is worth. In our case, it's worth a hundred dollars. You can use it to buy something worth a hundred dollars or something worth less than that. If that's the case, they will give you your change or more bills that make up for what you didn't spend. It's easier to demonstrate than to explain."

After giving each of them their money, he noticed he had six hundred left. He grabbed two more bills and gave them to Chase. "Here, Chase. Just in case anyone needs more."

"You got it, Ryder, sir," Chase replied before putting all the money in his pocket.

"Hold on," Rocky said. "Why does Chase get more?"

"It's not for me, Rocky," Chase replied. "It's for you, pu. . .eh, guys. I won't spend it. I promise."

"If you need more cash, you can go to Chase or me to get more," Ryder added.

"So, where do we go to spend this?" Rubble asked.

Ryder pointed at the large 'Adventure Mall' sign on the side of the building across the street. "We can start there," he replied. "A mall is a lot of different stores, restaurants, and sometimes games."

The Paw Patrol crossed the street and entered the building. As they walked into the mall, they were in awe. The bright lights, colorful displays, and the chatter from various stores filled the air. The smell of fresh popcorn and sweet treats from the nearby food court tantalizes your senses. They saw people walking in different directions, some carrying shopping bags while others were window shopping. They heard the sound of music playing in the background.

"This is nice," Rubble said as he sniffed the air. "And something smells delicious." They all looked at him. "What? I'm still hungry." They all laughed at the statement.

The team walked around, going from store to store to see what they had to offer. The fashion stores caught the attention of Skye, Everest, and Rubble. Skye and Everest were looking at dresses and skirts while Rubble checked through an assortment of men's jackets. Rocky walked through an electronic store and a pawn shop, amazed at how much there was. Zuma ended up talking to an employee of a beach store about what the best kind of surfboard was and where to catch the best waves nearby. Ryder, Marshall, and Chase decided to check out a sporting goods store. They spent a bit of time checking out the shoes section.

After an hour passed, the group met back up in front of the stores with some bags. "For never shopping before, I'm surprised how easy and fun it is," Rubble said.

"Yeah," Zuma said. "How did we get the hang of it so quickly?"

"I'm guessing that just as your canine food cravings became human cravings, you also got some human traits."

"Well, I ain't complaining," Rubble said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a yellow bomber jacket with a black collar. "I thought I liked fashion before, but now I love fashion." The others laughed at his joke.

"What did everyone else get?" Ryder asked the others. They reached into their bags and pulled out things they bought.

"I bought this cute pink heart necklace," Skye said. The pink crystal heart hung from a silver necklace, which Everest helped her put on.

"I bought a wristband with snowflakes on it," Everest said as she held out her arm so they could see. "I was going to get something else, but I didn't know what. Maybe next time, I'll grab one of those cute purses they had."

"I guess jewelry is popular, huh?" Zuma said rhetorically. "Cause I got this silver chain with an anchor pendant and this orange trucker hat with a speedboat stitching. Later, I might come back to try out one of the surfboards. If it's fine with you, Ryder, of course."

Ryder laughed. "Yeah, if we have time. What about you, Rocky?"

"I found this cool Canon camera," he said. "I've always wanted one, and they had it for only twenty bucks. What about you three?"

"I got a new sports watch," Ryder said. "It's easier than pulling out my phone for the time."

"I bought myself one too," Marshall exclaimed. "But mine's back with red details."

"I got one with blue details," Chase said. "And I also got myself this." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black wallet with a star on its face. "I figured that having a wallet like Ryder's would be better than carrying loose money."

The others liked that idea and went to buy some wallets. Everest got a light blue one, Skye got a pink one, Rubble got a brown one, Rocky got one with green tech lines, Zuma got one with waves, and Marshall got a black one with realistic flames.

"So, what do we do now?" Marshall asked.

"Let's go get something to eat," Ryder said. They walked down to the food court. People filled the lines to different types of restaurants and food chains. There was Chinese food, Mexican food, pizza, burgers, fried chicken, and pretzel shops.

The team sat at a table as Ryder ordered some burgers, fries, and soft drinks. They ate and talked about what they saw inside the stores, what piqued their interest in them, and what other things they wanted to check out.

As they finished eating, Zuma put his hand over his stomach. "That was the best burger I've ever tasted, dude," he replied. "Ryder, what restaurant was that?"

Ryder checked the bag the burgers came in. "It's called In-N-Out," he said. "People say it's the best burger in the country (I respect everyone's opinion, but In-N-Out has the best burgers there is)."

"We gotta come back here," Rubble said. The others nodded in agreement.

"It was pretty good," Ryder replied. He checked his watch and realized it was already past seven o'clock. "Well, we better get going. Gabriel will be expecting us soon."